Second Coming
by The King of Pop
Summary: AU of Books 2 and 3. Azula is sent by Ozai to capture Iroh, Zuko, and the Avatar. The Firelord has a mysterious man accompany her for assistance. Failure is not tolerated in the Fire Nation, as the Princess will learn. Azulaang, Maiko, Zutara, Sukka.
1. Prologue

**Came up with another idea. Want to see how people take to it or not. If u don't like it, don't leave a rude review. If you like it, and would like to see more, let me know.**

**Summary: AU of Books 2 and 3. Azula is sent by Ozai to capture Iroh, Zuko, and the Avatar. The Firelord has a mysterious man accompany her for assistance. Failure is not tolerated in the Fire Nation, as the Princess will learn. Azulaang, Maiko, Zutara, Sukka.**

Her father had summoned her, for what purpose she did not know. Perhaps there was to be another boring party, or celebration of _something_ she didn't really care about. It was one of the few, if the only, thing she hated about being the Princess. Appearances must be kept, even to those below her station.

However, upon entering the Burning Throne Room, Azula was lightly surprised to see only her father. He wasn't even sitting upon the throne. He was standing on the balcony, overlooking the Royal Courtyard, with his hands behind his back. His shoulders were rigid, he obviously knew she was close, and the obediant daughter kneeled.

"Your Uncle and Brother have revealed their hands as traitors to the Fire Nation. The Avatar is also continuing to elude our forces and was the reason the late Admiral Zhao failed his Siege."

Hmmm, she was not shocked to hear that her fat, tea-loving Uncle turned against the crown, but Zuzu was a surprise. He always seemed so adamant about pleasing father and doing what he could to catch up to Azula. The stress couldn't possibly have pushed him to the other side, could it? She would ponder upon that later. To also hear Zhao, the idiotic monkey he was, was killed by the Avatar. Not good for the rest of the Navy perhaps.

"I know that you have not seen much outside of the palace. Most of your life you have been here; training, learning, being the proper daughter and heir. Now is the time Princess Azula, to use what you have learned. Find Iroh, Zuko, and the Avatar. I want all of them in chains rotting away in my dungeons."

"Of course Father. I will not fail you."

"Zero." A figure in black dropped from the dark ceiling, landing next to the Fire Lord. "I would hope that is a promise my dear. Zero will accompany you on your mission. I would so hate to learn that you disobeyed my command and the enemies slipped from your grasp."

Something was off about her father's words, yet she knew not to question them. He never steered her wrong before. That's what she said to herself on the lonely nights that her heart ached. He was all that had been constant. It was what she would do. "I understand Father."

"You may go now." He did not turn to her, to wish her well, to smile. Nothing. Such is the life of a child of Ozai.

"Yes Father." Now that she had been dismissed she was allowed to look up. This Zero was...a strange sort. Not a single bit of his skin could be seen. His, for the outfit was so tight a female was impossible, face was covered in a black leathery mask. The mask had large black circles, like a pair of goggles, for eyes, while two circular metal canisters attached to the cheek area.

No hair could be seen either, for a black cloth attached to the odd mask covered the back of his head. A shiny black leather coat was strapped across his chest with...metal bars, the collar turned up and strapped together with a green strap. The coat reached to his black shoes, the type which military troops wore, only they looked more durable. The little she could see of his pants were a black cloth-like material. Covering his hands were black gloves, tucked into the wrists of the leather coat.

How this Zero was not dying from the heat and falling over was a mystery. So long as he did not slow her down she could care less how he dressed. During her observation of his outfit the two had been walking out of the palace to the shipyard. Of course Father would have a ship ready for her, with a full crew able to set sail at a moment's notice.

"So what is it that you can do that Father wants you to accompany me?" Proper planning would require knowledge of his skillset.

Zero said nothing to her question. That irritated the Princess. Everyone answered when she spoke, or they faced dire punishment. After walking upon the gangway and taking a quick scan of her crew, Azula turned her golden eyes to the masked person. "Well?! Don't you know to speak when your Princess has spoken to you?"

Zero still did not respond. His head tilted to the left, as if her were amused by her annoyance. No words came from his mask however.

How _dare_ this dog ignore her? HER! Had Father not been the one to send him with her he would already be dead in a blaze of azure fire. Fine. If he wanted to ignore her, then she would ignore him. So long as he didn't get in the way.

"Captain."

A uniformed man with a Captain's rank upon his shoulder approached and bowed to the Princess. "Yes your highness?"

"We set sail now. Is the ship ready?"

"Of course your highness. Where do we set course to?"

Azula smirked, now glad _someone_, was listening to her commands. "To the future of the Fire Nation."

**Some Time Later**

Of course Zuko wanted to fight. He was always so hotheaded and ready to brawl. True, she had easily beaten him, and some of the crew had tried to take down Uncle, but that didn't concern her. It was Zero that was on her mind.

The entire fight he merely stood by without a word and watched. Uncle and Zuzu both had looked upon Zero with apprehension and confusion upon coming on deck, but the strange figure did _nothing_.

"One." A scratchy, slightly distorted voice came from the man after Uncle and Zuko had gotten away. That was all he'd said. It irked her, and she had no idea what he meant.

"Your Highness." Captian Cor bowed to her, waiting for permission to speak.

"What is it?" This had better be good, otherwise the closest Liutenant would soon get a promotion.

The Captain held out a scroll with the seal of Omashu upon it. "The Governor of Omashu has reported that the Avatar is in the city."

Azula grinned with malice at the news. True, her traitorous family members slipped away, but the Avatar would be hers now. Once he was in chains, she could focus on the other two. The Princess knew she was going to need help however, as the Avatar could be ten times as strong as herself. With no help from Zero, it looked like she would be visiting an old friend.

"Tell me Zero, do you like the circus?"

**In Omashu**

HOW? How in the name of Agni did the Avatar escape from her?! Not only did he escape, with the fact that Mai and Ty Lee were her backup that should not have happened, but the Avatar was a 12 year old child! Yes he was an Airbender, and having never fought one she was at a slight disadvantage at the start. The boy was not a truly trained fighter however, as she was able to bit by bit learn his style and attack weak points.

"What now?" Mai droned to her right, obviously deciding to stick with her friend instead of staying in Omashu. "If he already knows Waterbending, and King Bumi won't teach him..." The gloomy girl trailed off, not too sure of any other Master Earthbenders within reasonable distance of Omashu.

"Maybe he'll go to Ba Sing Se?" Ty Lee was doing that damned handstand thing again, and...scratching her head with her _foot_. How revolting. Speaking of...

"Two."

The three girls spun around, having not heard Zero approach them. It startled them, even Azula, though the Princess would never admit it. The black clad man had followed the Princess around everywhere, watching her for...whatever it was he watched for. Ty Lee told her in private that his aura felt off. Like it was dead, but somehow alive. She said it was very very green, but not like grass. Green like snot when you're sick with a cold. Ugh.

Mai had not voiced an opinion over him, though she was always tense in his presence. It was as if she expected an attack any second.

"What do you mean two? For that matter, why in Agni's name have you not _once_ helped to capture our targets since we began? You're completely useless, Father be damned if only in his choice to select _you_." Steam escaped from her lips, so close to frying this idiot where he stood.

He stood only five or so feet away from her, arms hanging limp in front of his body, head tilted down. He had spoke and not even looked up from the ground. A beat passed. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee waiting to see what he would say. How he could expl-

"Protocol Sozin: Activated. Targets: Escaped. Subject: Azula, mission status: Failed. Fire Lord Ozai's command: Exile. Course of Action. Field Execution." Zero's head jerked up and those black eyes bore into her golden ones. "Enjoy the fall you sorry ass bitch."

The Crown Princess had no time to react. So in shock was she, not only by his words that she was now an exile and set to die, but that it was by her own father's desire. Zero moved like light and when he did his kata, _sickly green_ fire erupted from his fingers. It was like looking at a sun exploding in your face. Vaguely she felt something touch her before the green fire consumed her and sent her flying off the platform. The dark abyss of Omashu's lower levels greeted her before the oblivion did.

**This is an idea I had come up just from one thing. The image of Zero in my mind. Here is some info to let readers know a thing or two. Zero is NOT an OC. He is a canon character that I have tweaked for purposes of AU. He is not a spirit, or anything like that. He's a real character. Take a guess at his identity?**

**Ozai is much more ruthless in this story. In The Search we learned he would have killed Azula, his favored kid, had Ursa ran off with the two children. THAT IMO means he'll kill any and everyone that is somehow a threat to his rule or pisses him off enough. So, since he holds Azula to such a high standard, the punishment is much much worse.**

**So how will Azula be affected by these developments? How will Zero change the story? How will the Gaang handle things without Azula on their ass? Perhaps if this is liked enough we shall find out. And if anyone is wondering where the next chapter of Echoes is, it's coming. I've been very busy with work, and over the weekend I spent SEVEN hours replacing some suspension parts on my El Camino. So I've been very tired as of late. If you like it, please review. Later.**


	2. Them

**So, response to this has been better than I figured to be honest. I thought people would read it and be like, "The fuck is this crap?" Well, sorry about the wait for chapter two. I've been...busy. Thank you for the reviews and the advice. BTW, I'm going to let everyone know ahead of it, that in this Avatar AU some of the technology is more advanced. You won't see cars or anything, but some things will appear. Nothing super major I think, but didn't want people throwing a fit if it came out of nowhere. OK, on with this.**

Everything was so blurry. What was happening? Where was she? "Ugh," Speech seemed evasive at the moment, movement as well. How did she get here? Oh yeah. Zero had shot a large stream of fire, of _green_ fire, at Azula. She moved to take most of the attack. She had to protect her friend; that blast was strong enough that full frontal impact would most likely have killed the Princess instantly.

Not that Mai was feeling any better physically of course. Everything hurt, and it hurt bad. Their fall from the higher platforms should have killed them, but it seemed Agni was watching out for them. Falling through several water and sanitation pipes on the way to the ground slowed their descent enough to prevent death upon impact. _But it still hurt like a bitch_. Mai was ever the optimist.

"A...Azu...Azula?" There was her voice, thank goodness the attack hadn't taken that away. Her vision was starting to adjust to the darker environment around, though it was unfortunate nothing of real interest could be seen. One could only take so much of stone walls and structures before wanting to knife their own eyes.

Gasps and a whimper sounded from behind her. The knife-thrower struggled to turn over, then grimaced once her eyes took in Azula's condition. One of the pipes they had fallen through supported her, the Princess sitting against it. The sight wasn't the greatest to behold. A lot of the Princess' hair was burned, or had been burnt off. It was uneven and one side was much shorter now. A fresh burn mark, which looked bad enough that a scar would indeed form, covered her right hand and most of her neck.

Azula seemed to favor her right arm, then switch to grabbing the fabic covering her left shin. Through the pain of her own injuries, which she had yet to check, Mai could see that the Royal's right elbow was bending the wrong way. Ah, so it wasn't the arm, but instead was most likely a dislocated elbow. That would hurt putting back into it's socket. Perhaps the Princess had a broken leg to add to the list as well. The knife-thrower knew that her entire left arm and the left side of her face had been burned, how badly she couldn't be sure, but since she had caught most of Zero's firebending it was probably going to take weeks to heal.

"Gotta get up." The moody-girl growled, for her sake and Azula's. "Azula...we've...gotta get up. Have to get out of here." Talking was hard, painfully so, but Mai would not, _could not_, let that stop her. The Noble-born grabbed the dirt in front of her and pulled. The pain more than doubled, nearly making her bite off her tongue, but she did so again. And again. Mai was determined to cross the few feet to Azula. Finally they were within arms reach, Mai pulling something from her severely damaged robe.

"Bite down on this." Azula took the item, a thick pouch made of a tough, cloth-like material. She knew what she would have to do.

Once Azula had her teeth digging firmly into the pouch she grabbed her right arm. A few quick, slightly panicked breaths were taken before she pulled hard. The sound was enough to make a lesser person gag, but Azula just yelled out, the pouch falling from her lips. The Princess took a minute to get her breathing under control before addressing Mai. "Thank you."

Azula was not one to praise. Never. But at the moment she was in a tough bind, and would swallow her pride if it meant getting out of the current disaster alive. "Of course. It's what friends do, or did you forget?" Perhaps Mai let a little sarcasm come forth, but she was honest about friends being there for each other.

The golden-eyed girl scoffed to her question, but ignored it in favor of more important things. "We need to get out of Omashu. I don't know exactly where we can go right now, but I know anywhere other than here is preferred." She paused as a spike in pain grabbed hold of her for several seconds. "B...but if I'm to be in..._exile_, like Zuko...we may be lucky enough t-that word will be slow to spread." The Princess slammed her eyes shut tight as another wave of agonizing pain hit, and though she tried, she could not hold in the moan that showed just how much she was hurting.

Mai knew that they would be on their own, if Zero suspected they were still alive then the chance that any Fire Nation patrol could be informed of their status was not something she wished to encounter until they both healed. The mountains, woods, and backwater villages that had yet to be conquered would have to be their avenue for the forseeable future.

The knife-thrower struggled to her feet and managed to keep herself standing. Though the task was quite a chore and she felt as if vomitting would perhaps make the pain less, there was no time any longer to sit around in defeat. "We'll fin-nd a-a-a place. Come on Azula. They'll k-kill us if they catch u-us." Mai helped the Princess stand, throwing her left arm around her shoulder so the broken leg Azula sported would not bear any weight.

Agni must have been watching out for them. For just as the two fugitives disappeared into the surrounding darkness, minutes later men dressed in black and masks searched the area.

**With Zero**

"That got me fired up." The masked Zero mused to himself. It had been difficult to wait. To restrain himself until Protocal Sozin could be set into motion. Yes, things were now in his favor. "As for you," His masked form turned to a furious and mortified Ty Lee.

"You son of a bitch!" Ty Lee would not play around with this...this _bastard_. The distance between them was closed, then she began her assault. Within seconds the acrobat had struck him twice in the ribs and once on the shoulder. Her next strike was aimed for his throat, the thought of ending his life consuming her.

He caught her hand and punched her in the face. A strong backhand followed before she was pulled into his rising knee. Zero drove the attack hard into her gut, sending her head-over-heels to the ground. "My mother was a very nice woman I'll have you know." The black clad man let go of her hand and attempted to stomp her skull in with his boot. Ty Lee was no novice fighter however, and rolled out of the way, then did the same when his other boot tried again. The Noble retaliated with a fast jab to a spot on his right leg, but Zero hardly seemed affected. Ok then, a quick snap of her own foot caught him in the arm, giving her time to kip up.

"You've been waiting the whole time to do that?" The rage was calming, for a fighter consumed by the red mist was sloppey, but Ty Lee was still very angry. Her friends were attacked, they could be severely hurt. Agni forbid they were dead. "You're supposed to be on _our_ side. The Fire Nation's side."

"What makes you think I'm not? I exist to bring the Fire Nation to a time of glory like never before. I _serve_ the _Fire Nation_." Zero leapt into the air and began to spin like a buzzsaw, producing a wave of green fire aimed for his acrobatic opponent. Ty Lee sprung to the left, glancing at the metal which suffered from the firebending. It was melted to a pool of liquid slag. Even Azula's azure flames would need more time to melt iron. Where did his power, his fire, come from? "Pay attention now please. You wanted a fight, therefore I shall give it to you!"

Ty Lee flipped away from another stream of fire, then tried to surprise him by attacking head-on again. Two jabs of fire were sent her way, which she ducked under, and she grabbed his left arm. Three points hit on the arm, and one in his side, then she elbowed him in the face. The pink-clad girl was mindful to avoid hitting the circular things on his mask, not knowing if they could somehow hurt her. "I'm going to kill you." Her face was set in stone, determined to beat this man.

Zero shook his arm and stretched his body for a second before tilting his head. "Is that so? Do you have what it takes girl?" A spin kick and a verticle chop sent fire her direction. "Taking a life can be hard on one not versed in such a trade. Can you shed innocence and embrace murder, become a death dealer?"

He didn't let her answer. She had leapt into the air, avoiding his fire again. In close combat once more she tried to strike his face and chest, but he nimbly dodged or parried each strike. One strike was aimed for his stomach, but he leaned into it to counter. Instead of his gut Ty Lee struck one of the metal bars that was attached to his coat. The impact wasn't loud, but the girl's eyes shut tight from the pain. Those bars felt much tougher than normal armor, whatever they were. Unfortunetly the pause in her attacks gave Zero the chance he wanted.

His gloved fist became covered in fire and he struck his opponent hard in the gut. The smell of burnt flesh was instant, though his mask filtered it, and without breaking stride Zero rose his leg high. With Ty Lee bent over clutching her burned stomach, the masked man connected his booted heel with the back of her head. The fight was over the moment her face hit the ground, knocking her out cold.

Zero shook his arms, getting the last of the tingles out. Her attacks indeed connected, but he was made of tougher stuff than most. The man motioned to the side, but did not look up from Ty Lee. A handful of Fire Nation soldiers approached and offered a bow. "Yes my Lord?" After seeing the masked man exile and execute the Princess, they had no desire to get on his bad side.

"Take her to the tank. Inform Scorpion that Protocol Ursa is to be activated."

"Sir?" The Commander that was in charge of the troops did not know what Zero was talking about.

"You will know her when you see her. Go. I will not tell you again." Zero changed his view from the girl at his feet to the Commander.

"Right away my Lord!" Two armored soldiers grabbed the unconscious acrobat and dragged her away.

"Oh, and Commander," The man looked into Zero's masked gaze. "Once that is done, inform the platoon that they are to gather in the mess. I'd like a word with everyone. And I mean _everyone_."

The man nodded and the Fire Nationals set about to follow his orders, leaving Zero to himself, or what everyone thought was himself. "There were no bodies." A voice behind him said.

"I see. So, they prove to be tougher than I thought." Zero scratched the chin of his mask a few seconds, thinking of the Princess and Mai. "Good. It'll make things easier for us. I imagine the Avatar is making good time ahead of us too." He turned to the voice, another masked individual, with other masked figures and Mai's father gagged and in chains.

The one that spoke to him was about his same height, wearing black; all of them were actually. He had two hookswords attached to his waist, black in color with green wrappings to grip. His mask was not like Zero's, but simple in design. A visor covered his eyes, but the rest was metal, what looked like razor-sharp teeth painted around where the mouth would be. His coat had an attached hood that covered his hair, the cloth material ending at his hips. Instead of pants he wore black shorts, the rest of his legs hidden by bandages. Green colored boots, military styled like Zero's, covered his feet.

"When do we pursue?" Hookswords asked, eagerness in his muffled voice.

"You will not pursue either Straw." Zero folded his arms and moved to his follower. "You will take care of our enemies within the city. I don't care how it's done, just make sure it's finished by nightfall."

Hookswords, now known as Straw, gave a two-fingered wave. "Alright. What of King Bumi?"

"He's most likely long gone by now. Perhaps hiding within the mountains around the city, or the sewers. Not an issue." Zero responded after a thought.

"See ya later then." Straw was about to leave when Zero tossed him what he thought was a brick, but he saw that it was a strange metal thing.

"R&D finished with these about a month ago. Called a radio, or walkie-talkie, or some thing like that." Zero pulled one his own from his coat, then put it back. "It has instructions on the back, so read carefully. They've been field tested already, so everything should work like it was designed. Call in when your task is complete."

"Sure thing." With his mission given, Straw's tanned fingers saluted once more, then he ran into a nearby alley and disappeared.

Zero approached Mai's bound father and the other two masked people. One had a figure that belonged to a girl, one still growing of course, but a girl nonetheless. While the other was male. Both wore black pants with green camo patterned shapes along the legs. The male wore a red vest over a black shirt, his forearms covered in bandages that fed into fingerless gloves. Upon his back rested a viscious, and advanced looking, bow with a filled quiver next to it. The vest wearing male's mask had a visor like Straw's, but the black colored mask was patterned with tally marks all over. Some looked fresh while others were old.

The female covered her torso with old, dirty bandages and a torn mesh shirt. Mid-bicep to wrists were exposed, showing scarred flesh the likes of which only came from blades. Her right hand was covered in a black glove with the cloth of the pinky tore off. She wore one weapon; a sinister looking knife that was strapped to her right thigh, a gray blade covered in old blood. Her mask was different in that it covered not just her face, but encompassed her entire head. The eye lenses were both ruby red, while the mouth area was like a metal grate.

"Did you secure the other prisoner?" Zero stood feet away from the masked duo.

The female answered her leader. "Yes sir. While I grabbed the Governor, Bow picked her up. She's at base." The ruby eyed mask bowed slightly, keeping grip upon the gagged man on his knees.

Zero nodded to the male, Bow, then looked back to the female. "Did our friend here give you any trouble Stinger?" The masked man turned his gaze to Mai's father.

Stinger shook her head. "No, though his guards would not give him up without a fight. It was a decent fight I guess." Stinger pointed to three fresh lines on her arm. "Haven't run into any since. Wanted more action boss."

"So you have said many times." Zero removed the gag from the Governor's mouth. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Because you are a traitor to the Fire Nation! I saw what your men did! When the Fire Lord hears of this-" His yelling was stopped by Stinger grabbing his throat and squeezing.

"Traitor? No. You see, _you_ are the traitor I'm afraid. What has happened to Omashu since it was put in your hands is a sad sad tragedy. Do you think just cause you're a Noble that you're incapable of faults?" Zero turned away from the trio, his arms still crossed over his chest. "Traitor...I'm not betraying the Fire Nation. I'm saving it. If I have to go through idiots like you then the body count is really gonna pile up. Because bad things happen to those that get in my way." He pressed his left forearm in two places and a two foot blade extended from his coat sleeve above his hand.

"No please!"

Stinger and Bow shoved the man towards Zero. Zero turned, his blade quick as lightning, and the Governor's head flew from his body. Blood shot like a fountain from the body's neck, covering the masked trio in the life substance. Zero and Bow stood silent, while Stinger had removed the metal mouthpiece from her mask, trying to catch blood with her tongue. "May I?" Stinger pointed to the decapitated head near them.

"Drink up you lush." Zero didn't quite understand her tastes, but she followed him, so who was he to judge or forbid? Within reason of course.

Stinger eagerly grabbed the head and held it to the mouth of her mask. She swallowed several gulps of blood, almost moaning in delight, before tossing the head to the body and fixing her mouthpiece back in place. "Thanks. Orders my Lord?"

Zero pushed another place on his forearm and the bloody blade disappeared, ready to be used another day. "Straw can take care of things by himself, so I want you both back at base with Scorpion. When Protocol Ursa is started, I will be talking to the men. I'll be dealing with a whole platoon, so perhaps you would like to carry out my command for me?"

Bow clenched his fist in a way that showed he was eager to spill more blood. Stinger's hand began to slither towards her knife, already thinking of all the deaths that would happen today alone. "You bet your ass we would. What if Protocol Ursa doesn't work out though?" Stinger sounded desperate for a promise of violence.

"It will work." Zero began walking away, his masked subordinates following close behind. "I'm eager to test the process and see how it holds under extended use. One way or another the slave will obey."

The deadly trio headed away from the gruesome scene, each with different thoughts on the mind.

**I started writing, and just couldn't stop till the end. This was originally even longer, with scenes that included the Gaang, Zuko and Iroh, and flashbacks to first impressions and meetings with Zero from various characters. However, that is much much too long for my tastes. So next chapter will feature detailed paragraphs of the Gaang, Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and flashbacks. Straw, Stinger, and Bow should be familiar to fans. Why are so many things happening different? Because Zero is The Corrupter, and he can be very very good at it when he wants. When we meet Scorpion, it'll be a shock, I hope, to find out who he/she is.**

**Perhaps this chapter was a bit much on the blood, gore, Hannibal stuff. But I think, in the crapsack world that Second Coming is eventually going to be shown as, sometimes when people snap, they do shit they wouldn't do normally. Please tell me what you think so far.**


	3. Plans

**So, let's see...I'm liking the alerts and follows this is getting. Hope I can get some good reviews soon too. Thank you for the reviews you have given now. Some of the things that will come up in the fic are going to be philosophical in nature, others will be spiritual, mental, etc. I'm under the hope that I can make some interesting topics come up.**

Everyone was setting up camp silently, each of the three in their own worlds and thoughts. Of course the peace and quiet was not meant to last with this particular group.

"Ok, so here's what I'm thinking." Sokka, looking over a map that he'd managed to snag while they were in Omashu. "If we keep heading in this direction," the warrior traced his finger Southeast, "Eventually we'll come across some more Earth Kingdom towns and put some distance between us and any Fire Nation garrisons. At least, I'm pretty sure." His face scrunched in thought again, trying to plan ten steps ahead of the enemy.

"That'll give me a chance to find an Earthbending teacher that's mastered Neutral Jing, like Bumi said." Aang had finished laying out his bedspread and joined the Water Tribe boy, Katara already standing next to her brother.

"What's the first town we'll find?" She asked.

Sokka looked back down to the map, eyeing the names of landmarks and such. "Looks like...Laloka. Maybe a day and a half, or two days, travel." He rolled up the map then. "If we cut into our sleep and bathroom breaks. One break a day, and four hours of sleep." He said this completely serious, causing the Avatar and his sister to face fault.

Katara smacked Sokka lightly in the back of the head. "Yea, that's not gonna happen. Ever." She was using that voice like when they were back home, the 'commanding girl' voice.

"Besides how hard on us that would be," Aang awkwardly scratched his bald head, "Appa won't be good flying us if he's that tired all the time."

"Ok ok, no need to bite my head off." The warrior held up hands in surrender. "At least we'll be able to put distance between us and that girl with the blue Firebending."

"And her bending blocking friend." Katara muttered bitterly.

Aang kept his opinion of the two to himself for the moment, though remembering how pretty the Firebending girl had been, and how fierce of a fighter she was...made his cheeks warm a little. "That weird masked guy bothered me too. Something felt...off about him."

All three then thought of their meeting with Azula and her companions.

_**Omashu**_

_Two groups stood opposite one another, both tense and ready for a fight to potentially break out any second. On one side; Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the infant Tom-Tom. The other; Princess Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Zero._

_ "You brought Tom-Tom." Azula commented, glancing at the baby. Icy though she may be, even she was against hurting children._

_ Aang took a step forward, keeping eye contact with the pretty girl. She was very pretty, though being an enemy he knew that it meant nothing. "Where's Bumi?"_

_ Azula motioned above her with a hand wave. One of the cranes began to move and revealed what the Gaang was there for. King Bumi locked in a metal coffin seemed as cheerful as ever despite his situation as a prisoner. "Hi Aang! I'm just hanging around."_

_ Aang nodded to his old friend then turned his eyes to Azula once more. "Ok, we'll make the trade."_

_ Sokka stepped forward with Tom-Tom gurgling in his arms, while Bumi's coffin began to lower. With no one paying attention, Zero crossed his arms and tilted his head to the left. A second later all hell broke loose._

_ Instead of lowering further the crane stopped for a second, before quickly and violently swinging Bumi's cage back towards Azula. The Princess was caught off guard by it, having intended to honestly trade in order to assure Tom-Tom's safety. The cage knocked her off the crates she stood upon and she hit the ground hard._

_ "What the hell!" Ty Lee and Mai looked at her with concern, before putting up their guard. This wasn't part of the plan. The Gaang looked on edge too, not sure what was happening._

_ "Get Tom-Tom before he ends up hurt." Azula didn't know why she'd been hit by that cage, but something told her that the Avatar and his group were not going to hold up their end of the deal. Perhaps it was the years of training with Father and hearing his words about how the enemies of the Fire Nation held no honor and couldn't be trusted in the simplest of things. Such brainwashing was hard to undo._

_ Her two friends leapt into battle, Mai going to grab her brother, while Ty Lee dealt with the Waterbender. Azula wanted to take the Avatar on herself. However, "What are you doing?! Get in there!" Zero had not moved from his spot. His arms were still crossed and he idly stared at the Airbending boy, whom held his staff ready._

_ Yet Zero did not move, made no motion to attack, nor said a single word. He just stood there, still as a statue._

_ This really pissed Azula off, and weirded out Aang a lot. Though he was not a fully realized Avatar, his senses were telling him that this guy in the mask, Zero, was bad news. It was like he was there, but he wasn't. Perhaps if he had the chance he could ask Roku about what his feelings were saying later, but for now he was ready for a fight. His friend was counting on them._

_ "If you won't do anything then I will!" Azula ran passed him and began her battle with Aang. Her blue flames pushed back his wind like he were a novice, which in her mind he was. During the battle, Zero followed them. Not once did he try to attack, but he kept pace with the duo, watching intently. Now Aang was _really _creeped out, but he didn't have the time to let his mind wander from the fight with the girl that bent blue fire._

_ Aang had never heard of someone being able to bend blue fire, even before he'd been frozen. To be able to do so spoke about the talent and will of the bender, and combined with her beauty, brought another blush to his face. Azula may have been to focused on attacking to notice, but Zero saw it clear as day._

**With the Gaang**

"The whole time that I was fighting that girl, he just kept watching us. Or..." Aang bit his lip, feeling uncomfortable about an idea he just had. "Maybe he was watching her."

The Water Tribe siblings were confused by that. "Why would her own ally be watching her and doing nothing? Seems suspect if you ask me." Katara didn't really understand why someone would act like that.

Sokka put his hand to his chin, entering his infamous thinking pose. "Maybe he's just really weird...OR...maybe he's got some major huge crush on either you, since you're the Avatar, or Fire-girl cause...of something." The boy was grinning and nodding.

Aang, though not against same-sex relations, was not attracted to guys. Sokka saying that he might have some type of extreme fan, like that weird guy that foamed at the mouth back on Kyoshi Island, that liked him like that made him shudder. "Sokka, were you dropped in ice when you were little?" The Avatar facepalmed hard while asking.

"As a matter of fact, yeah I was. Proud of it too, makes a man more manly to survive the cold waters."

"Sure thing buddy." Aang became serious again. "Whatever the case, I don't think it's the last time we're going to see those four."

_**Days before**_

_ "Ty Lee, is that you?" Said acrobat popped back to her feet and turned around._

_ "Azula! It's so good to see you!" Ty Lee had not seen Azula since they were in the Royal Academy for Girls back home. It was a shock, and a welcome surprise, to see the other girl._

_ The two friends embraced each other and made small talk about the last few years. It seemed that in the excitement of seeing the Princess, Ty Lee did not notice Zero standing there with his arms resting by his sides._

_ "Who's that Azula?" Ty Lee had a bad feeling about whomever this person was. Her ability to see auras told her that his was a green color, mixed with a small bit of black. Sickness and death. What did that mean?_

_ Azula rolled her eyes just a bit, thinking of how Zero had done nothing to help capture Uncle or Zuko. The less said about that the better however. "This is Zero. He's been tasked by Father to assist me on my journey to capture a few people. You remember Zuko, and my Uncle?"_

_ "Ohhhhhh. Of course I do. General Iroh was always so funny and nice." Ty Lee also had fond memories of Zuko when they would get together and play._

_ "It would appear that they have decided to become traitors to our Nation, along with the returning Avatar it seems." Azula grasped Ty Lee's hands then, looking into the other girl's eyes. "Would you please accompany me and help capture them? I could use your help."_

_ Ty Lee chewed her lip at the other girl's request. To be out on the road with her old friend, facing adventure, and getting to fight alongside her. However..."Azula my place is here with the circus. I've been having so much fun since I joined."_

_ "Oh. I see." Would Azula admit she was disappointed in her friend? Of course. Would she admit that somewhere inside it hurt to have Ty Lee reject her? Most likely never._

_ Ty Lee could tell though, seeing the aura of her friend change just a bit. "Although," Ty Lee smiled to the Princess. "Are we going to get to see Mai?"_

_ Azula's eyebrow rose in confusion at the question, but she replied anyway. "Yes. Eventually. I believe that her family is being put in charge of Omashu once it's taken over."_

_ Ty Lee nodded a few times to herself, then grinned at the Royal. "Tell you what; you watch my show tonight, and I'll come with you after it's over. How's that sound?"_

_ Azula was about to scoff at the girl's offer, but something stopped her. Or rather someone. Zero was staring her down from across the room. That emotionless mask, and the black lenses seemed to pierce her very soul. Blah, she'd been reading too much fiction lately. Still, he was doing a very good job of weirding her out. "You know, I'll do that. I've not seen you do your acrobatic tricks in years. I'd love to see it."_

_ And in her heart, part of her really did._

**Present**

"Is it ready?" Zero asked the person next to him.

"Almost. Once I cut her hair and secure the mask fully, all that's left is the canisters." A feminine voice responded from another masked individual.

"Good. Then I'll just take a seat and enjoy the show. Might be able to drown out the screams from the mess." Zero walked around the makeshift lab and sat in one of the chairs next to a blacked-out window. She was almost complete. Soon he would have the perfect weapon, and if unwilling at first, a slave to obey his every command on the battlefield.

The masked man pulled out a book as the sound of a drill filled the room, his feet put up on a table with notes and schematics scattered about it's surface.

**Earth Kingdom**

Iroh poured a cup of tea for himself, then one for his nephew. "Prince Zuko, is something on your mind?" Indeed the Prince looked to be deep in thought, and for once he did not look upset or angry. More like he was confused, or perhaps unsure.

Zuko turned to his uncle, lightly scratching at his buzzed hair that had begun to grow in. "Uncle, when Azula tried to arrest us...I wasn't good enough. All this time away from home and she's still a better Firebender."

"I wouldn't say _better_ exactly, Prince Zuko. Capable and blessed with more raw, inert talent, perhaps. However," Iroh sipped his tea before continuing. "You, my nephew, are a very hard worker. With enough training, patience, focus, and dedication you could easily match your sister or even surpass her. In the face of hard work, pure talent only comes so far Zuko."

The Prince considered the words of the former General. They made sense to him, having read such words in scrolls that spoke of Fire Lords and Avatars of generations past. "I...I can see where you're coming from Uncle. There may come a time when I have to fight Azula again, and next time I'd rather be prepared, next time I'd rather be capable of beating her." Zuko drank down his tea in one gulp, not really paying attention to the flavor, so deep in his thoughts was he.

Iroh poured some more tea into his nephew's cup, then placed a hand upon the boy's shoulder. "Zuko, if that is your goal then you must learn to focus your Firebending, not from your anger, but from your inner peace."

"Inner peace? Uncle, we're fugitives from our own Nation! How can you expect me to be able to have any sort of peace? Nevermind trying to draw my Firebending from a different source than I've done most of my life." The cynical side of the young exile came forth quite easy, but the old General was not to be put off so quick.

"The same way that I learned after I lost Lu Ten. Zuko, to be good at Firebending you must feel it within you _and_ all around you. We Firebenders draw strength from the sun, but in recent times most have forgotten that. They have been lost to the teachings of Azulon and your father, but while it is a more simple way it is not the true way. It is not stronger."

Zuko listened to his uncle's explanation with rapt attention. After being reminded that Uncle Iroh had lost his only son, and yet still managed to keep his head up and his spirits positive, the Prince knew that being an exiled fugitive was, in the long run, really a bit of an easier task than losing one's child. "So, anger and aggression aren't stronger?"

Iroh shook his head and finished off his tea. "No they are not Zuko. Like I said: they are a quicker path, easy, and they need less skill to master. Firebending is life, not destruction Zuko." He pointed to the sun and a smile came to his lips. "Without the warmth of the sun, we would all die nephew. Even the simplest of animals knows this on some primal level of thought."

Zuko gulped his second cup of tea down, this time noting the flavor, Oolong, as he thought over his uncle's words. "Could you teach this to me Uncle? Teach me to Firebend like you? I..." The Royal looked down in embarassment. "I want to be able to let go of all the anger I've carried all these years. The anger over Father burning me, the anger over...mom disappearing." He looked up with an uncertain look. "I'm just...it's so easy to lose my temper."

"Zuko if you truly want to learn, then I'd be happy to teach you. However," His normally kind face became stern as he stared down the boy. "You must be devoted and give it everything you have. Even when it gets hard, when you stumble and struggle, you can not give up nephew."

The Prince bit his lip for a moment before nodding with determination. "Alright. Whatever it takes Uncle, I'll do it. I'm not afraid of working for what I want."

"Then let us begin."

**With Zero**

Pain. She was in a _lot_ of pain and she had no idea why. She had no idea where she was. Her jaw...why did her jaw hurt so much? Somehow Ty Lee was able to force her eyelids open, with great effort, and when her vision began to clear up the acrobat noticed everything was darkened. Her surroundings indicated that she was most likely in the Fire Nation Tank that Azula had used, along with a small crew, to get to Omashu quicker.

Wait, Azula...Omashu...what had happened! She tried sitting up, but whatever she had been laid down upon, a metal table it felt like, she seemed to be strapped to as well. Damn it. _Zero_ was behind this, she was sure.

"You're awake now."

Ty Lee managed to somewhat turn her head, which felt as if she was wearing some kind of helmet all over, and saw two people standing next to her. One she recognized, one she didn't. Zero stood with his arms crossed, turning his head and nodding at the other.

"You did a good job Scorpion. Better than I expected actually."

'Scorpion' put her hands on her hips, scoffing at his statement as if offended. "Of course I did, though I have to admit that for our first one it was a little more difficult than I theorized. Everything is fine now however, and we can begin the next one now that the equipment and the process has been given a trial run."

What the hell were they talking about? Scorpion was most definetly a woman, if not confirmed by her voice, the body shape and very long, black hair was a giveaway. Like Zero she wore a mask, though her's was much different. It was orange and black, with blue colored lenses for eyes, and 'fangs' pointing out from the mouth area. The woman wore a skintight black shirt without sleeves and black pants with several odd darts strapped to a belt.

The only other weapon Ty Lee could see was a sharp looking kunai attached to a thin rope, the rope itself wrapped around the woman's arm and connected in some way to a forearm guard. Both arms were like this, though how the weapon was to be used in combat Ty Lee couldn't figure out. She'd never seen anything like it before.

"You are going to join me and aid me on my mission Ty Lee." Zero's words brought her attention away from Scorpion and to the one who had beaten her and harmed her friends.

"What are you talking about? I'll never join you after what you did! You're a traitor and the second that I'm free I'll kill you." Ty Lee's words seemed slurred, and it hurt to speak. Something about her jaw was really bothering her and had continued to throb in pain.

Zero was not bothered by her threat however, and his relaxed stance showed it. "Wrong. See, while you were out cold I had Scorpion do a little...modifications to you. This," The masked man tapped his knuckles against her face. Only, instead of flesh, his knuckles contacted what sounded like hard plastic or something like it. "Is something that my group and I came up with using Fire Nation money and resources. It looks like plastic, but it's much, much tougher. You won't be getting it off anytime soon either."

Scorpion approached and softly grabbed ahold of Ty Lee's jaw. This caused an enormous spike of pain to flare in the girl's mouth, her eyes filling with tears that she refused to let fall. "I bolted it into your jaw, lots of work and blood by the way, but it's in there nice and strong." The masked woman sounded proud of her accomplishment. Ty Lee wasn't happy to hear the tone, but currently could do nothing.

"Of course this was only one part of the experiment. After all," Zero ran his hands down the acrobat's arms, causing the girl to finally notice an uncomfortable feeling in both forearms. "What good would you be without proper motivation? Do you like flowers? I sure do, but only certain kinds I'm afraid. Ones that...oh ya know, ground them up, turn them into a liquid mixture, concentrate them, raise or lower the dosage...and holy crap...you've got poison. Or a paralyzing agent, or something to put someone to sleep. You get the idea." No, no she didn't. What was he talking about?

"These tubes in your arms, they're connected to some canisters we put together and filled with some lovely mixtures." Scorpion began to undo the straps holding Ty Lee to the table. "One holds a poison that will kill you within eight hours, which is always circulating through your blood, unless you're given the antidote." The last strap was removed and though Ty Lee wanted to attack them both, she seemed to fully realize how much her body, apparently having been experimented on and put through some type of surgery, and she actually needed the masked woman's help to sit up.

Zero moved to the wall and picked up a book with a bookmark sticking out of it's pages. _Herbs and Plants of the Earth Kingdom_ was the title. "The only way that canister two will give you the antidote, every eight hours of course, is if I unlock it. Thus allowing your blood a momentary relief. I'll only do this if you follow my orders though." The man put the book back on a shelf that seemed to be missing one or two books from the row. "You think you're better than me. I can tell. You think I'm some horrible guy, but I'm not all that bad. Not really."

"You're insane." Ty Lee managed to mutter, the uncomfortable feeling in her jaw making speaking hard, though she was getting used to the pain already.

"Azula's insane. I knew that for a long time, but did nothing about it. A screw-up on my part, but I'm making up for it and more."

Scorpion pulled Ty Lee over to a mirror and allowed her to see what had all been done to her. Her hair was cut short, not like a girl would have it fixed, but short like a boy's hair. This upset her a lot, for it had taken years to grow her hair to the length it was. The helmet attached to her head was see-through, made of what she didn't know, but it showed her face unlike Zero or Scorpion. The eyes were shaded darker however, and she could not see her own eyes because of it. Her chest and upper arms were covered in the same clear armor-like material, along with her legs and feet. Thank Agni they'd given her wrappings for her breasts and her core. Looking closer she could see spots on her legs where the flesh was bruised and swollen, and it hurt in those places. They must have bolted in the armor to her lower body, like they'd done with her head.

Her hands were covered in the armored material, gloves that extended halfway up her forearms. On each forearm, running through the armor and into her flesh, were two tubes. They must've been what would put the poison in her system and the cure that would let her live.

She felt horrible, and looked that way too. Hell, she looked like some kind of machine or one of the Fire Nation's gruff foot soldiers. What in Agni's name was she going to do to get out of this situation?

"We're back boss. We brought the prisoner like you wanted."

Stinger and Bow entered the room dragging someone between them, the identity of the person unknown because of a cloth sack covering their head. Bow's mask had a few new tally marks, while Stinger was covered in blood, some hers, some not.

"Ty Lee, your first task is pretty simple." Zero pointed to the unknown prisoner. "Take them out."

"No." Ty Lee knew that in the shape she was in any one of these four could kill her, but she didn't care. She was no murderer and she would not follow the orders of someone that had her experimented on like some animal. "You can fuck yourself."

Scorpion, Stinger, and Bow watched silently as Zero turned to the girl. They had served him for a while know, but even after all the time under him he still could be very unpredictable. Though they somewhat expected him to use his Firebending to kill her right there. He didn't however.

Despite having her skull covered in armor, when Zero punched Ty Lee in the face it hurt a _lot_. She stumbled back and fell against a large glass tube filled with greenish fluid. The girl had no chance to do anything before a gloved hand wrapped around her throat.

"Who in the hell do you think you are?! I expect to be respected! This is not up for a fucking debate, this is going to end one way. You. Will. Take. Them. Out." Throwing her towards the prisoner he looked at Stinger and seemed to calm himself. "What's the situation in the mess?"

The blood covered girl stopped licking blood off her arm and focused on Zero. "Everyone's been taken care of sir."

"Good. I'm sure they were dead on their feet." He looked back at Ty Lee, whom finally managed to stand on her feet, though she was unsteady. "Time's wasting. This prisoner won't execute themself, so please hurry before my temper fires up"

Ty Lee was barely able to keep herself standing, but one step at a time made it over to Stinger, Bow, and the prisoner. She wanted the pain to stop. She wanted to die. She just wanted this nightmare to end. Agni forgive her. The acrobat turned soldier grabbed the person's head, screamed louder than she'd ever before, and twisted violently. The snapping sound to her ears was louder than her screaming.

The body hit the floor with a thud and all was silent. Until Scorpion began to clap lightly, her body language saying she was happy. "That was pretty good for a first time. Though, if you'd been on a stealth mission that yell would've blown it."

Ty Lee could only stare into space and think about the fact that she'd just killed someone for no reason. These people were all insane, and she'd just pretty much signed on with them.

"Let's meet our lucky guest shall we?" Zero motioned to Bow, and the silent man stepped next to the dead body. When he pulled the sack off Ty Lee felt as if her world had just shattered around her. The person she had just murdered was Mai's mother, the kind, if strict, woman had been welcoming to her and Azula when they'd been in the Governor's mansion just a day ago. Oh Agni. What had she done? Why had she done it? Because she was scared? In pain? Perhaps she had been angry on some level about the experiment on her body and needed to release that anger? Whatever the case, it was done, and she wished she could take it back.

"Welcome to my organization. I've much to explain to you, and it may take time for you to understand, but I assure you everything I do is for the Fire Nation." Somehow she looked up from the body and stared blankly at Zero. "I think after that show, I'm gonna call you...Twist. Yeah that's it." The man reached to his mask and grabbed hold of it's jaw. "First thing's first however. With new people, we always like to show who we are underneath."

Zero pulled off his mask, as did the others. Ty Lee, now codenamed Twist, did not look at the others. Not yet. For looking upon the face of Zero, she thought for a moment, and it clicked. She knew who this man was. "How?"

The short haired man looked grim, and angry, but not at her per say. "I'll tell you one day."

**Hmmm, this is really long compared to what I normally do. I hope that you all enjoyed this. Like I said, some of the things in this Avatar AU are going to be more advanced, because I figure that it's possible for them to have it. In Korra, which isn't too long after TLA, they have cars and airplanes. So really it's not to farfetched to think they're able to experiment on people with somewhat futuristic-esque things.**

**BTW, writing punny action movie type one-liners is harder than it looks. But I always look to Arnold and his action films for inspiration. Tell me what ya think.**


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